“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” So says George Bernard Shaw, the playwright who penned the Don Juan-themed, four-act drama, Man and Superman, in 1903. In the play, the beautiful, orphaned Ann is […]

“Proof delves into deeply emotional problems that arise from mental illness battling with true genius,” says F. Scott Keel, director of Rarely Theatre’s inaugural production of David Auburn’s play. The Tony Award-winning drama examines the story of a young woman haunted by the mathematical genius of her father while grappling with a mental illness she […]

Nashville-based, Toronto-born country songstress Lindi Ortega writes songs about loneliness, desire, crumbling relationships and the plight of a struggling musician. After spending a decade as an independent artist in Canada, Ortega moved to Music City, where she continues to gain recognition for her skilled songwriting and distinct voice. The title track on her latest album, […]

“Andy Statman is a master of two idioms linked only by their demand for virtuosity and their down-home origins,” says The New York Times. The award-winning musician is both a klezmer clarinet and bluegrass mandolin virtuoso. And, while he doesn't play those two instruments simultaneously (that would be crazy), he was nominated for a Grammy […]

“At dance clubs and private parties in northern Mali, Imarhan Timbuktu [Those Who Love Timbuktu] had provided much of the grooving soundtrack to life over the past 10 years,” according to the band’s bio. That party was interrupted by the arrival of political turmoil in the band’s homeland — conflict that drove group members to […]

“For centuries — literally — folks have been following the French Broad River into Madison County to hear the finest in traditional music,” says the Madison County Arts Council in a press release. The tradition continues at the eighth annual Fiddlers of Madison County event to benefit the arts council. This year’s show features regional […]

After a journalism career with stories in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal (among others), Asheville-based writer Denise Keirnan turned her attention to the Southeast. Her 2013 book, The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II, examines the lives of the women (many […]

Songwriter and musician Johnny Neel is probably best-known for his work with Dickey Betts and Gregg Allman. Thanks to those relationships, in 1989, Neel was invited to join The Allman Brothers Band. In addition to touring with that group, Neel also lent his other skills: He co-wrote the Allman Brothers' 1990 hit single "Good Clean […]

Folk duo The Everydays (David Zoll and Tim Marsh) are, between them, members of local groups like Bayou Diesel, Chalwa and Asheville Horns. Together, they've opened shows for Malcolm Holcombe, Red June and others. That's why it's kind of fitting when The Everydays got ready to release their new, self-titled album, Red June guitarist and […]

There's more than a catchy rhyme at play when it comes to the band name of this Czech trio (Vash Havelka on vocals and guitar, Mira Syrny on bass and Jan Svacina on drums). According to a press release, the group's "indomitable and deep-seated spirit of adventure and keen desire to place themselves firmly in […]

You’ve gotta hand it to a cartoon series that made it fun to sing about adverbs. Thanks to that Saturday morning staple, Schoolhouse Rock!, children of the ’70s know what a conjunction is and how a bill becomes a law. For those in need of a refresher (or born in decades that lacked such academic […]

Singer-songwriter Callaghan left London in 2010 to record her debut album with singer-songwriter Shawn Mullins — a collaboration that began with a MySpace message. Since her move to the States, Callaghan has been touring heavily in support of that album, titled Life in Full Colour. Her style combines folk, pop and country influences to create […]

Vampires in the Lemon Grove is not your average collection of short stories. From the title tale, about a pair of immortal beings who quench their thirsts with fresh fruit, the book establishes itself as wonderfully weird. While not all of the eight stories are quite as engaging as that of the vampires (or the […]

The Squirm Burpee Circus is a cartoony, over-the-top “vaudevillian melodrama” complete with slapstick comedy, daredevil juggling and a host by the name of Baron Vegan von Hamburger. According to a press release, “the show features an eye-catching cast and a beautiful, Cirque du Soleil-like aesthetic, with high-energy acts such as the Human Cannon, the Ladder […]

It's not every rapper who's honored with a bobblehead likeness. Then again, Blowfly (aka Clarence Reid) is not just any rapper. Performing in a cape, mask and yards of gold lamé, he is known as a triple-X-rated funk legend. Following a career as a soul and R&B recording artist, Reid donned his alter ego and […]

Arooj Aftab is one of Pakistan’s few female guitarists. She’s also one of NPR’s top 100 composers under 40, founder of Rebuild Pakistan — an initiative that began in response to the 2012 Pakistan flood crisis in — and she’s the assistant editor for MTV’s Rebel Music Series. If her credentials aren’t already enough of […]